“We are very lucky to be able to make history.” Just like Joshua Kimmich, the players of the Bayern Munich want to add a sixth trophy to their Grand Slam of five titles in 2020: the World cup for clubs in Qatar.
Next Monday (12:00 from Honduras) in Rayán, near Doha, the European champions face their semi-final against the Egyptian club. Al-Ahly, winner of the African Champions League.
“It is a team that has the ambition to play football and that has a lot of attacking solutions. The lateral defense is also very offensive,” Bavarian coach Hansi Flick analyzed this Sunday and asked his players not to underestimate the rival.
If they win, the Germans will play against in the final on Thursday Tigers of Mexico, which defeated Brazilian Palmeiras 1-0 on Sunday.
“Let’s go to World cup for clubs with the very clear goal of bringing the trophy to Munich. Six trophies from the same season, so far only FC Barcelona has done it, “Bayern skipper Karl-Heinz Rummenigge launched enthusiastically.
– Ambitious players –
The Bayern in 2020 he won the Bundesliga and the German Cup, the Champions League, and the German and European Super Cups.
In 2013, the ‘Rekordmeister’ had won five of the six trophies, including the World cup for clubs, but did not win the German Super Cup, which succumbed to its great rival of the time, Borussia Dortmund.
“Always wanting to win everything has been in the DNA of this club for a long time,” Rummenigge recalls, revealing an episode in the life of the club that illustrates this mentality.
When there was talk of the World Cup being canceled due to the corona virus a few months ago, Rummenigge, Hansi Flick and a delegation of team players went to ask him to speak to their friend Gianni Infantino, FIFA president. to convince. that the tournament was contested at all costs.
Rummenigge assures him that the gesture impressed him: “They won everything in 2020, they have a hellish agenda, but they want even more,” he explains.
“We absolutely wanted to play this tournament,” confirmed Flick. “We know we have to cope with fatigue, but we arrived motivated and it is great motivation to crown an extraordinary season with a sixth title,” added the coach.
– Bayern tired –
An accident at Berlin airport on Friday created even more pressure. When it was due to take off at the end of the night to arrive in Doha around 7am the next day, the team’s plane was grounded in the German capital and could not take off until Saturday.
Sportingly, the Bayern He arrives tired, but his attacking potential (averaging 3 goals per game this season) continues to make a difference: he has five consecutive wins in the Bundesliga.
“Our game is always analyzed by saying that the Bayern it is not as dominant as last season. But we should not forget that last year was absolutely exceptional for us, ”Thomas Müller remarked recently.
“We had a short winter break to regain our strength. We have an excellent roster. It is important to have this reserve of players and to be able to make changes,” midfielder Joshua Kimmich said on Sunday.
“Saying we have too many games is not really a valid excuse. The conditions are there to have a good tournament,” the player added.
Germany’s champions almost completely arrive in Qatar. Only Leon Goretzka and Javi Martínez, who tested positive for the corona virus, stayed in Munich.
Since 2013, World cup for clubs has always been won by the European representative and the Bayern want to renew that domain.